Ewoud Kieft

Ewoud Kieft (b. 1977) is a writer, historian and musician. In 2015 he published Oorlogsenthousiasme. Europa 1900-1918 (War Enthusiasm. Europe 1900-1918), about how members of the cultural elite of the early twentieth century were transformed into militant radicals who glorified war. The history journal Historisch Nieuwsblad described it as a ‘magnificent and rich book’, concluding: ‘Ewoud Kieft is the most important young Dutch historian of the present day.’ In 2017 he published Het verboden boek (The Banned Book), followed in 2020 by De onvoltooiden (The Imperfected), his fiction debut.

The Forbidden Book

Mein Kampf and the appeal of Nazism

(Atlas Contact, 2017, 288 pages)

The most notorious book in the world has not been read widely, most likely because it has been banned for decades in many countries. The accepted verdict is that it is not just depraved and dangerous, but that it is unreadable, the product of a disturbed mind.

The Imperfected

(De Bezige Bij, 2020, 384 pages)

In historian Ewoud Kieft’s sciencefiction novel, people are healthy and by and large fairly happy. Sexism, racism and physical decay are virtually extinct. Artificial intelligence has found its way into all aspects of society, and smart algorithms monitor and assist people as they go about their everyday lives.